This museum is the perfect price. Free! It is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. There…read moreis lots of natural history as well as cultural history. Everything is in both English and Welsh. The natural history area had videos ad well as exhibits detailing the geographic history of the region. The Art of the Selfie exhibit had a small cost which was quite fair. Van Gogh's Self Portrait was the main draw, but they also had Rembrandt and other artists. In the other rooms, there were so many artifacts. Rooms within rooms and beyond, you can lose hours reading about everything on display.

it was a pretty good experience, but no one warned me that the bloody dinosaurs are getting starved…read morebecause they are literally just bones. animal mistreatment is NOT a joke I want to support, I cannot believe the STATE of this museum. Good value for money as its free. Cool stones and a selection of STARVED AND DEAD animals. and the service was poor because they encourage this. the toilets are good for kids, AND OTHER THINGS.

Gord and I toured Cardiff Castle last Wednesday afternoon. It's in the city centre…read more The site has been occupied for nearly 2,000 years. The Romans built a fort there around AD 55 to help control the area. Later, they replaced it with a much stronger stone fort and parts of those Roman walls are still standing today. After the Romans left, the Normans arrived following the conquest of England. Around the late 11th century they built a castle inside the old Roman fort. The large grassy mound in the middle and the stone keep on top are from this period. During the Middle Ages, Cardiff Castle became an important stronghold and was involved in various conflicts between Norman lords and Welsh rulers. Over time, it evolved from a military fortress into a grand residence. The castle's most famous makeover happened in the 1800s when the incredibly wealthy John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute hired architect William Burges. Together they transformed it into the spectacular Gothic-style palace you see today, with lavish rooms, murals, towers and intricate decorations. During the Second World War, tunnels beneath the castle walls were used as air-raid shelters for thousands of Cardiff residents. In 1947, the Bute family gave the castle to the city, and today Cardiff Castle is one of Wales's most popular attractions.

A must-see if you are in Cardiff. There is so much history inside these castle walls and it…read moreconveniently located adjacent to the city center. You can opt to go on guided-tours or wander at your leisure. I was there on a rainy day and there were very few visitors, so I really felt like I went back in time. The WWII museum was pretty intense; it might have been the dark, rainy weather or the creepy background music or the dim lights, but I could literally feel the anxiety of those that had been seeking shelter in those tunnels. While the grounds and first floor of the house are wheelchair accessible, the rest of the grounds are not. I was recovering from a broken leg, and I had to take a few steps to do the tunnel tour and I was unable to ascend the MANY stairs that lead up to the fortress at the top of the hill. The visitor center houses ruins of the original Roman wall that dates back to the 1st centaury AD, a gift shop, and a café. The experience is 100% worth the entry fee and I highly recommend if you are visiting Cardiff.

Not the best gallery, the admission just for a small area is not worth it. The free part on the…read moresecond floor is pretty interesting. You can roam around freely.

We stopped here for many reasons: it was sweltering out, the permanent collection is free to…read moreperuse, and my mom heard they had a Thomas Gainsborough. Count us in! We were welcomed immediately upon entering and never felt any sense of pressure to hurry through the gallery. If anything, we could have (and maybe should have) stayed a bit longer to take it all in - there's plenty of seats in which to sit back and do so. But I appreciate all that we saw, including (but not limited to): 'The Bride of Death' painting by Thomas Jones Barker (I was taken with all the symbolism within what is essentially one story frame), Edwin Whitney-Smith's 'The Scarab' bronze statue, and - much to my surprise - the white cabinets against the walls of the room that are positively filled with pullout drawers housing watercolors and pencil sketches of Bath, Somerset, and England (one in particular caught my eye: it was the view looking down on Bath from Alexandra Park, and I had literally just come from the same physical vantage point [and couldn't help but compare my modern day phone photo to the piece of art from the 1800's). I am sure that if we were locals that we'd attend any number of the amazing community focused events they host throughout the year as well. Here's the thing: if art is not your thing... don't come. However: if you love art, even if you just kinda like art, if history and/or art are at all fascinating to you, if you only really like one artist and they carry one of their pieces, you should absolutely come here. It's not an all day affair (the gallery is actually quite small), so give yourself an hour or two and enjoy just another corner of how incredible the city of Bath really is.

I've walked past this statue many times over the years but only recently tried to find out some…read moreinformation about it! It appears to be a mermaid of sorts, in some kind of yoga position (at least, that is how it has always looked to my uneducated eyes). It is indeed a mermaid, carved in Portland stone by Peter Nicholas FRBS, ARCA, and weighing three tons. The dimensions are: 152cm in height, 122cm width and 122cm in depth. The circular form represents the cycle of life, its evolution from the sea to dry land and is also symbolic of Porthcawl's long association with the sea. It is signed at the bottom, P.W. NICHOLAS. 1993. Peter studied at the Cardiff Art School and the Royal College of Art and has exhibited all over Britain. He works mainly in marble and stone creating both small and large works. This sculpture is found on the grass in Seabank Gardens in West Drive (across the road from the Seabank Hotel) and beside a public seating area.

Judy is an artist, a lady that helps make Cardiff beautiful. She waves her arty magic wand and hey…read morepresto your window has a view of an eternal rainbow where a carpark used to be! She scatters her bespoke vinyl creations in windows where tatty net curtains formerly hung, brightens up schools and hospitals with her giant flowers and lights up walls across Cardiff with her sculptural beams and mobiles that look like pychodelic spaceships. Judy says: "The joy of colour is the thing that inspires me and I hope to express this delight and an uplifting emotion within these creations." Judy makes designs for the home, works in schools and youth groups, runs workshops, creates lighting designs and public art. Check out her website and see for yourself!

Lovers of the contemporary this one is for you…read more The quiet shop front of G39 hides behind it's glass buzzing televisions, cardboard cut out meat, art things of all description and a curator waiting to answer your profoundest of queries. This quirky art gallery in the middle of the city centre attracts both accidental visits from curious passerby's and deliberate visits from those in the arty know. G39's petite gallery space provides a platform for the work of early to mid career artists. There are three floors to explore, but I have also seen a secret cellar open up for some 'special' exhibits. If you attend an opening here expect to be squashed like sardines, spill out into bustling Mill lane with wine stained lips and when the doors close migrate to Chapter to continue your schmoozing.

G39 is an artist-run organisation - part gallery, part community and part resource. Established in…read more1998 by artists Chris Brown and Anthony Shapland it hosts exhibitions in the permanent 'white cube' space as well as organising public art that uses offsite temporary venues including digital display boards, billboards, shipping containers, warehouses and empty shop units. The ethos? They say this: "The idea of providing independent or new ways of working acknowledges a certain ideological belief that the self-empowering nature of artist-run spaces could be used to shape culture. A willingness to be open to change, being flexible enough to adapt and respond to dominant political or cultural trends - whether for or against - has ensured that these spaces have maintained a key position in the mechanisms of the artworld." G39 certainly has a key foothold in the Cardiff artscene. The narrow three-storey townhouse has housed many fantastic exhibitions and the independent gallery has gained a reputation for flexibility and innovation, as well as giving exhibiting space and support to emerging artists and curators. Long may it continue.

BayArt Gallery, situated as its name suggests in the heart of the Bay area of the city, aims to…read moreshowcase the best of Welsh and international contemporary art. It's a relative newcomer to Cardiff's thriving arts scene, but for Cardiffians interested in art it's one to watch. There are a couple of upcoming exhibitions advertised on its website, alongside exciting educational workshops for both children and adults. The gallery is aiming to put on around six exhibitions a year, with the next, 'Vario' taking place from 25 September until 22 October (including work by 48 artists from Australia, Hawaii in the USA, and V-6 artists, printmakers and publishers from Cardiff), followed by 'Urban Delight', an exhibition of work by painter Robert Soden, who is interested in contemporary city scapes and urban regeneration.

Bay Art is a spacious contemporary ground floor art space in Cardiff Bay exhibiting a programme of…read moreWelsh and international artists. The white-wall gallery measures a sizeable 1,926 square feet with 228 hanging wall space allowing for large pieces whether solo shows of group exhibitons like the touring exhibition for the excellent annual Jerwood Drawing Prize. The building that hosts Bay Art Gallery has been an arty place since the late seventies. From 1979 the space housed artist's studios, and as such it is one of the longest running studio buildings in Wales. By the mid nineties the premises had deteriorated to quite a sorry state. All was feared lost, until in 1997 Butetown Artists came to the rescue, initating a capital project of £1,052,660 to repair and refurbish the building as a public art gallery and 16 artist studios. The project was completed in 2002 thanks to funding from the Arts Council of Wales Lottery Fund, with other substantial contributions from Cardiff City Council, CADW, Foundation for the Sports and Arts and the now disbanded Cardiff Bay Development Corporation.

If you are into art, then you know that the city of Bristol has really become synonymous with…read moreBanksy, an a funny, witty, political satirist who uses graffiti art as his medium. Full confession: actually my brother is a massive fan of Banksy and it he who introduced me to his art, and our whole reason to actually come to Bristol on a weekend getaway, was to check out the various bits of Banksy's artwork scattered around the city (the fact that we both just fell in love with the vibrancy and charm of the city of Bristol is a whole another story!) Banksy 'Love Cheat' Mural was the first Banksy we saw, and one of the tour stops during the Blackbeard To Banksy - Ultimate Bristol Walking Tour. The name of this artwork is "Love Cheat" and is a perfect example of Banksy's ironic sense of humor as the work is scintillated on the side-wall of a sexual health clinic. Our guide told us that Banksy apparently created a full scaffolding, pretending to be a construction worker and when the council wanted to paint over it, local Bristolians set up a petition that prevented the artwork from being painted over. The a few years back, the council decided to sell the building and what they did was genius - they listed it as an artwork with a building attached! The new owners have offices on the main floor, but the basement is a swanky cocktail club with a secret entrance. One things that took me aback was the size of the stencil - it's absolutely the size of a window in someone's room! Also, when I came in April 2019, it had been vandalized with blue paintball pellets - our tour guide told us those apparently appeared after a local radio interview in which Banksy admitted to a being a fan of Bristol football club with red colours (their rivals wear blue, hence the blue paintball pellets!). The second bit of vandalism is because apparently there is the local graffiti ''artist" called ''KAPE'' and he thinks its funny (ha-ha not!) to go around and signing his name over all the local area famous graffiti artworks! So when you see my photos, you can see both these vandalized bits of work too. Anyway, seeing this was just so amazing and super chuffed I got to see a Banksy artwork up close and personal. Yelp 158/ 2019

Five stars despite never having seen it in person…read more Many thanks to Qype for making this available.

If ever you forget how beautifully historic Bristol is, then head to Christmas Steps…read more Essential just a flight of steps with a few shops, but from top to bottom, Christmas Steps is full of awesomeness. It has changed quite a lot of the last few years, and instead of just having art shops/galleries, it now has a cider shop, super cool hairdresser/barbers and now the super famous 20th Century flicks. I am yet to go to one, but they hold small cinema screenings where guests sit in the steps and the film is projected at the bottom. Genius! If you're after a unique place to buy some Christmas presents or if you haven't been for a while, get your ass down to Christmas Steps!

The Christmas Steps are located just off Colston Street and the centre of Bristol. It is one of the…read moreoldest streets in Bristol, dating back to 1669. There is a narrow, steep incline to the top with independent shops throughout. The shops are all really quaint and cute, and I can safely say this is one of my favourite areas of Bristol. At Christmas, the street is wonderfully decorated and makes a perfect photo opportunity. As you walk down (or up) the Christmas Steps it really feels as if you have jumped back in time, and for a city that isn't heaped in history, this is a real treat. In addition, the steps link you up with the centre of Bristol which is handy.